Asian Shares Fall Sharply on Unexpected Drop in Chinese Exports

Asian stocks fell broadly on Monday as an unexpected drop in Chinese exports and concerns surrounding the ongoing U.S. government shutdown and the vote on Brexit this week kept investors on the sidelines. The Japanese markets were closed for the ‘Coming of Age Day’ holiday.

Investors also awaited cues from the U.S. earnings season, with several banks set to unveil their quarterly results this week.

Chinese exports
unexpectedly fell 4.4 percent from a year earlier December, the biggest
drop in two years. Imports also fell 7.6 percent, marking the biggest
decline since July of 2016.

Australian stocks gave up early gains
to end roughly flat as the weak Chinese trade figures sparked fresh
worries over the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war. Both the
S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index finished
marginally lower at 5,773.40 and 5,833.20, respectively.

Retail
conglomerate Wesfarmers fell 2.2 percent after warning that its discount
department stores had slower than expected sales over Christmas.

Energy
stocks such as Origin Energy and Oil Search dropped around 1 percent as
oil prices fell for a second straight session. Mining giants BHP and
Rio Tinto fell slightly, while the big four banks rose around half a
percent.

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Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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